Just An Act
by ardentiafrost
Summary: A magician of whatever discipline must perfect the art of deception, of saying and doing things that make the audience believe that they think or believe or can do one thing but in fact, they are actually going to do the other. It isn't much of a stretch to think Danny can mask his real relationship with Henley that same way, but with everyone else. Danley.


A/N: Let's pretend that Now You See Me 2 did not happen, at all. It was depressing for me because a) where is Henley? b) it took itself too seriously, and even the finale reveal was off, because I kept asking myself what happened with Lula's trick, and c) WHERE IN THE WORLD IS HENLEY?

A/N2: I kept reading up on interviews with the director and the magician consultant about the bubble trick, which is probably every Denley fan's favorite scene, but unfortunately, they've only copped to saying that it was one of the 'tricks of tomorrow'. So, I just pretended that it was done with some trick invisible string (like the kind you see Danny and Merritt use in the vault scene in Now You See Me 2).

—

"Daniel?" Merritt piped up.

"Yeah," Danny replied.

Merritt continued, "As our… let's call it year of living dangerously… comes to a close, and in a rare moment of vulnerability, I'd like to express a sentiment to you about our relationship."

"Okay," Danny said evenly. He knew Merritt well enough that this was not going to be exactly vulnerable.

"Well, when I first met you, I thought you were kind of a… dick."

Danny scoffed. "Oh."

Henley, with arms crossed, leaned a little forward. "And?"

*Flashback to rehearsals*

The Eye had some really brilliant plans for the Four Horsemen. It boggled even J. Daniel Atlas' mind, and he was the master of illusion out of the Four.

So far, the Four had sorted out their plans for the first big night under Arthur Tressler — although, Tressler didn't know about it yet. Danny was going over the other blueprints that the Eye had sent. They were impeccably crafted, he was rather jealous of the man behind them. He wouldn't tell anyone, but he only wished he could come up with those ideas.

As he studied the plans for Act II in the Savoy Theatre, he noticed one of the myriad of tricks was designed as a tip of the hat to Henley's signature faux-damsel-in-distress. Only Henley would be light enough for that kind of bubble trick, and the Eye had singled him out to be the one to catch her.

He realized that there were bridges that would require mending if they were going to pull that one off.

—

Henley was not ignorant of the fact that there was a bubble trick that would require her to trust Danny to catch her. She was used to trusting equipment she herself had built and some well-trained (but still rather in-the-dark) crew members, but this was different. There was an element of reality to the fall that would happen.

She knew Danny was very professional, and he would be able to pull this off, but there was a very big part of her that was still not comfortable with the set up. So far, everything the Eye had doled out for them to do had been something exhilarating and daring, things she could do quite well and play to the crowd with. This was more personal.

She was Danny's assistant once upon a time. She was so enthralled with his brilliance, and to her chagrin, she was still smitten by the illusionist. She had left all those years ago, because Danny was a controlling jerk who never treated her well. She would never admit it to an audience, but it was his comments about her size and his constant put-downs that pushed her to be a rather successful solo escape artist act. She wanted to show him up, at first, yes. However, over time, she realized that was what she was really gifted at. Designing her own traps and escaping in front of an audience was definitely her calling. It also didn't hurt that for some reason, crowds thought of her as so very fragile. Acting like she was seriously trapped was so easy.

Fortunately for Henley, the realization of her own gift (and the succeeding embracing of that gift) came long before Danny left her 'anonymous' comments referring to her being remembered as his assistant. She didn't feel like a B-grade act for it. If anything, it emboldened her.

A knock at the door interrupted her thoughts.

"Henley?" came an uncharacteristically timid call from Danny.

Henley looked at to the door to her bedroom in the Horsemen's apartment suite. She was a bit surprised to see him, and a bit more surprised that he would bother to knock. It would have been more in his nature to just barge in and tell her what he wanted her to do.

"Can we talk?" Danny asked. He still spoke in that staccato-ed rush of words that was just _him_ , but he seemed a bit more on edge, not quite as confident.

"What do you want to talk about?" Henley replied, intrigued by this strange approach.

"I wanted to apologize to you for everything that happened up until you left all those years ago," he said, still in the same almost-timid way.

Henley gasped, taken aback.

"I wanted to apologize for all the things I said, for all the ways I put you down," he said, almost like he was ripping a band-aid off. "I've wanted to apologize for a while now, but I never really plucked up the courage. I know I took advantage of you and never appreciated you until you were gone. No other assistant has ever been quite the partner you've been. Sure, I said they might fit better, but no one could slink out of trapped spaces quite like you or complement my illusions like you."

"Why the sudden need to apologize?" Henley asked. Her heart skipped a beat, because he was saying all the things she had always told herself he should at least say so she would forgive him. Could this be for real? Someone slap her and wake her up. Danny Atlas was apologizing to her.

"We're getting ready to do the bidding of a very old, very secret organization, at least, that's what they would have us believe, and I know we're all in for this adventure, because really, when would we ever get this kind of chance?" he rambled. He touched his lips as if to quiet himself. He sucked in a breath and continued more slowly and purposefully. "I want to make things right between us, because the next year or so is going to take a lot of trust, both ways."

"Are you having these talks with Jack and Merritt?" Henley asked, trying to stall, trying to decide if she should forgive him.

"I don't have history with those two," he replied, looking her in the eye. "I haven't hurt them like I did you," he looked away, "and I don't really feel for them what I feel for you." Looking back at her, he cleared his throat and said, "Will you forgive me and work with me — and Jack and Merritt, but mostly me — like before?" In a cheesy gesture, he extended his hand for a handshake.

Henley smiled softly. She wouldn't gush, because she wasn't really that kind of girl, but she could sense the sincerity in Danny's words — at least for the moment. She sighed to herself. She hoped she wouldn't lament this later. "Okay, Danny, I forgive you." She put her hand in his and shook it once. "Don't make me regret this."

Danny gave a small smile and said, "Thank you. I promise." He released her hand.

—

Rehearsals began in earnest in a warehouse supplied by the Eye.

Danny had them practicing their spiels to a tee and their individual tricks on their own after Jack cut Merritt in the cheek while practicing his pencil-slicing card trick. They tried it again with each other after another month of practice.

Danny also scheduled time to rehearse with Henley alone. The rabbit trick was no challenge. They were completely at ease around each other, and it would be as though the two of them were in on a secret from the audience. The bubble-trick, on the other hand, was a bit more complicated.

The first time they practiced was without bubbles. Henley insisted on a few inflatable mattresses in case he dropped her. Danny was gracious not to take offense. He did not have a very good track record of supporting her well anyway. And the mattresses were warranted, definitely warranted.

—

Henley gave a scream that sounded very real, as the bubble dropped her. Danny had already positioned himself, timing his movement from the moment he was to have released Henley's bubble to this point.

However, since Danny was not exactly adept at supportive roles, and he wasn't the must physically endowed man, his catch was a bit off. Henley landed in his arms, yes, but then he tumbled backward, landing flat on his back with her on top of him.

Danny groaned. He was grateful Henley had the sense to design the computer-controlled harness and have it ready as early as rehearsal, or else having Merritt or Jack around to help reset as they practiced would definitely bruise Danny's ego. No, he would not be able to concentrate if anyone other than Henley was going to be privy to more than a few mishaps. Granted, he was already on edge about _Henley_ seeing. He still wasn't quite sure where they stood at the moment. _At least_ he wasn't a complete mess with the first drop. After all, he had tried to catch a dummy a few times. Those were definitely lighter — not because of Henley's weight, of course.

"Don't you dare make comments about my weight," Henley growled, rolling off of him. She sat up and looked at the mattress they landed on.

Danny groaned again, "I wasn't." He sat up. "I'm sorry I missed. Are you injured?"

"That better not be a setup to say _you're_ injured, Danny," Henley warned. All her internal alarms were going off. This was exactly the type of scenario that made her leave his show before.

"I swear, it's not, Henley," he said, reaching for her arm as if to still her.

Henley huffed, calming herself. "I'm fine, Danny."

"Good, do you want to go again?" he asked, offering her his hand.

The escape artist tilted her head in curiosity as she took his hand and let him help her up. "Why the sudden chivalry, Atlas?"

He shrugged then released her hand. He walked over to a control panel to recall the harness.

Henley approached the near-invisible nylon threads that would hold her up. The threads would be even thinner and made to simply snap during the actual show at the Savoy. She turned to face Danny where he had taken his position. She proceeded to go through the imaginary bubble Danny 'created', performing her aerial ballet of sorts as the programmed harness slowly moved her up. Since they weren't rehearsing with a crowded theatre and the warehouse was empty, she could hear Danny's strides up to their mattress-covered 'balcony'.

Having been Danny's assistant in the past meant she was adept at synchronizing time with him. Her movements slowed as she neared the point when the 'bubble' was to pop. On cue, she let out a scream and plunged at the acceleration of gravity toward the balcony. She tried not to get used to thinking there was a mattress there to save her from breaking any bones if Danny failed to catch her.

She only had a split second to think those thoughts, though, because after that split second, she was securely in Danny's arms, and he didn't lose his footing this time.

Danny let out a breath he'd been holding as he eased her back on her feet.

"Nice catch," she said without much inflection. She was waiting for him to make some kind of critique of her movement or something else.

Danny let out another breath, half-laugh, half-sigh. "Thanks," he said softly.

Henley's eyebrows shot up. "No shakedown? No criticism about my arms flailing the wrong way or something?"

Danny shook his head. "Nope, you were perfect." _Can't say the same for me_ , he thought to himself. "Again?"

Henley nodded. She could get used to this Danny who could keep his perfectionist trap shut.

—

As the plans for their shows took shape, they set to work on Arthur Tressler. The Four Horsemen lured Tressler in with a small private show of the parlor-trick versions of their respective skills. Tressler's support was bagged rather easily. He saw the potential to make a lot of money off of the Four Horsemen, especially since they brought a sense of finesse to magic that he had never seen. He could easily believe that they could become the biggest names in magic.

Discussions went by with the typical feinting until Tressler agreed to the MGM and the Savoy over Mardi Gras. The Four Horsemen just left out the part where they were ready for the FBI to arrest them somewhere in between.

With Tressler in the bag and their first venue secured, the Four Horsemen started work on installing the set Henley designed under the stage in the MGM a good month ahead of their opening night. With two weeks to go, they made a trip to the Savoy to test the theatre.

—

Danny and Henley were alone in the Savoy main theatre. They had practiced the bubble trick sans mattresses in their warehouse a few times without incident. Now, they needed to practice it with their setup in the Savoy with lights.

"You sure you don't want to do this with mattresses first?" Danny asked her.

Henley shook her head. "I trust you." She meant that. They had grown more comfortable with each other after the first few rehearsals of this bubble trick, and he had taken every other opportunity to be supportive of her, even if it was just between the two of them, with quiet looks and small smiles and almost imperceptible gestures. She still treated Danny like he was the same prick he was in front of other people, but between the two of them, she really did trust him, even love him.

"Okay," he said. He clapped his hands, and the lights turned on. He rubbed his hands together and started to 'create' bubbles, aware of Henley's movements as she sauntered around their stage.

She came back around from the back of the set with the cables attached — really thin, really strong and really invisible cables — inside her outfit.

Danny made a bigger bubble and she jumped right through. She used her immense control over her body to seemingly float upward toward the chandelier. She counted off in her head. The plan was to pull at the exact moment the winches pulled the string inside her coat so it would break and the threads would disappear without anyone noticing. _Now_ , she thought, giving a subtle tug as the bubble burst, followed immediately by a blood-curdling scream from her throat.

It took everything in her not to giggle instead of scream as she hurtled right into Danny's arms.

Danny sighed in relief as he spun her around. "Ah, so you _have_ lost some weight," he joked, smiling down at her.

Henley wrapped her arms around Danny's neck, gaze fixed on his eyes.

"Nice catch!" came Jack's enthusiastic shout.

Danny cleared his throat and rolled his closed eyes as he eased Henley back onto the floor.

"We'll pick this up later," Henley whispered in his ear before turning to Jack who had apparently been watching them from the main stage. "Hey, Jack!"

"That's the first time I've actually seen you two do that. Looks good. You were _really_ convincing," Jack said.

"Really? I think I've heard her scream some fifty-two different ways by now," Danny scoffed.

Henley rolled her eyes and countered, "The audience is only going to watch it once, Danny."

—

The Four Horsemen were back on Tressler's jet, heading back to Las Vegas that night.

Danny was seated at the frontmost seat. Jack was sprawled out on the first couch in the rear of the front cabin. Merritt was dozing off in what was usually Arthur Tressler's seat in the jet, his hat covering his face. Henley was in the back cabin alone, saying she needed a break from the testosterone.

Danny was idly shuffling a deck of cards as he watched Henley through the door. She hadn't shut the door but had asked to be alone. She was reading The Count of Monte Cristo in silence. Who knew she was an Alexandre Dumas kind of girl? Danny smiled to himself. Henley never ceased to amaze and amuse him.

Henley chose that moment to look up and catch him watching her. A grin broke out on her blood red lips. She nodded, as if saying yes to Danny's unspoken request for permission to enter.

Danny glanced at the other two before making his way over to Henley's cabin, closing the door behind him.

"Hey," he greeted her.

Henley tossed the book on an empty seat in the cabin and motioned for him to sit beside her.

"So, how many times has Merritt hit on you today?" he asked as lightly as possible. He could only do so much to restrain his raging jealousy.

Henley laughed softly in response. "You're cute when you're jealous."

Danny gave a self-deprecating laugh. "Thanks."

Henley gave him a peck on the cheek. "More times than I can count, and that many more times than I've agreed." She laced her fingers in his. "You have nothing to worry about, Danny. Merritt doesn't have the excuse that he can fit into tiny boxes you can't fit in," she replied.

Danny's face fell, and he gave a wry smile. Of course, she would use his history with Rebecca at some point. She still needed to work off some steam from their last parting of ways. Danny was trying to be accepting of the consequences of his past actions with Henley.

Henley used her free hand to turn his face towards her. "I was only joking, Danny," she said before planting a quick kiss on his lips, "but you do have nothing to worry about, I promise you that. Trust me."

Danny nodded, brushing his cheek against her hand.

"Now, go wash off that lipstick, those two will be awake soon," she said.

—

They were in Paris, setting up the robbery in time for the Las Vegas show.

"You think we could do something more romantic in the City of Lights?" Merritt asked Henley as he gathered his disguise.

"Dream on," Henley shot back as she put on her cap. "See you boys under the bridge," she said, waving to Merritt and Jack.

"Don't be late," Danny warned as he turned on his heel and followed Henley out of their motel room.

A few minutes later, Danny and Henley, both in dark clothes, snuck into the secure drop facility of the company hired by the mint. Jack had already stolen an access card and the roster of vehicles for the night. Danny checked the itinerary and led Henley toward the parking bay.

"This one," she pointed to the white armored truck. She picked the lock on the truck, and the pair climbed in.

With the door shut behind them, Henley turned on her flashlight.

Danny opened the hatch at the base of the truck. As planned, there was just enough space for two people to lay flat. He swallowed.

"Claustrophobic?" Henley asked, laying her hand on Danny's shoulder.

Danny gave a fraction of a nod.

Henley caressed his arm from his shoulder down to his hand and twined their fingers together. "Don't worry. It'll be over before you know it." She gave his hand a squeeze. "Besides, we'll be up close and personal the entire time." Without releasing his hand, she moved towards the hatch and pulled him down so they were side by side on the cold metal floor.

Danny took a deep breath. _You can do this, Atlas_.

Henley kissed his cheek (thankfully without any lipstick, or else Merritt and Jack would see later). "Ready?"

Danny gave her a grateful smile. "Yeah."

They each grabbed a side of the hatch's door and pulled it over themselves.

Within a matter of minutes, the car began to move towards the loading bay. Danny held his breath as the security team loaded the pallet laden with 3.2 million euros right on top of them. A guard entered and took his place on a seat in the corner.

As the armored car rumbled along, Henley used the bumps and engine noise as cover as she took a tuberculin syringe filled with a mild tranquilizer from her pocket. She uncapped it as she felt the armored car slow to a stop. There were two knocks on the side of the car. The guard inside stood and made his way to the door.

He didn't get very far as Henley snaked her hand out from a gap in the pallet and stabbed the tranquilizer into his foot. The guard yelped then crumpled.

The rear door opened as Henley and Danny pushed up on the hatch and the money split sideways.

"Hello, boys," Henley greeted.

They switched out the money for flash paper, trapping the 2 of hearts and a folded ticket stub between stacks.

Merritt did his thing, and the Four were on their way to a private jet hired by the Eye to facilitate the transport of 3.2 million euros to Las Vegas. The guard in the back of the truck would think he just dozed off on the job, and the driver was none the wiser.

—

They were in the jet after the massively successful first night.

Conan O'Brien was making some silly (and incorrect) comment about the secret to showbiz.

Merritt was slouched in a seat across the aisle from Henley. As expected, he made another pass at her. "Allow me to make plain what we've both been thinking," he said.

Henley, who had been looking at the main cabin, where Arthur Tressler was on Skype with Conan (and from where Danny was staring rather intently at her), tore her gaze away for a moment and looked at Merritt, "And what's that?"

"Well, obviously, you have feelings of affection for Daniel — unrequited and misguided, owing to his lack of emotional availability," he trailed off.

Henley went back to looking at Danny, who peeked back at her before she turned back to Merritt.

"Consequently, you're very tightly… how should I put it? Um, corked —"

"Oh, I am," Henley challenged, getting a little wound up (and not in a good way).

"Now, recognizing that you have physical needs not being met, and strictly in the vein of helping a sister out, I invite you to think of me as your own personal corkscrew," Merritt offered.

"Wow, thanks, let me mull over that off of cheap and meaningless sex," she replied with a roll of her eyes.

"Cheap and meaningless, maybe, but uh, not time-consuming," he said.

Henley couldn't contain her laughter at the absurdity. _Oh, Merritt, unlike you, I don't need to be_ corkscrewing _someone at all times, and unfortunately, you're wrong about emotionally unavailable Danny_. She shared a small smile with Danny, unbeknownst to Merritt.

Then Merritt started telling his lewd jokes.

Henley laughed a little exaggeratedly, and her eyes met Danny's again. Her expression was caught between a cry for help and just a hidden glance between them.

On Danny's part, he had held back starting their little patter for as long as he could to help establish some ease inside the jet, but Merritt's advances were really getting on his nerves. He stood up and made his way to the rear cabin with a slightly uneasy and slightly disgusted look barely concealed.

"Uh, we've got a show to prepare for," Danny said, tilting his head to indicate Tressler.

"Oh, do we now?" Merritt said, standing. He trained his eyes on Danny's.

And so the con began.

"No, no, no, you're not doing the _thing_ to me," he said.

"What thing? I'm just looking at you," Merritt replied.

"No, you're not, I've been watching you for a year, I know all your little tricks," Danny said, flicking his fingers in condescension.

"Is that what they are to you? Tricks?"

"Yes, it's gimmicks, it's Barnum statements, reading the eyes, body language, I get it." Well, no, Danny didn't really get it. Even if he would never admit it to Merritt, Danny knew he couldn't actually do Merritt's mentalism or hypnosis. However, for the sake of their ruse, Danny needed to remain as cocky as ever.

"If it's such an easy thing, why don't you do… Henley?" Merritt challenged.

Henley smirked for a split second and hopped on, "Yeah, Danny, why don't you do me?" She laid out the double entendre rather thickly.

Danny didn't miss a beat, "Nah, you're too easy," he said, "I'll do Jasmine."

"No, do me," Tressler volunteered.

And so Danny proceeded to 'embarrass himself' to the point that Tressler was handing them his security information on a silver platter.

Henley watched him play the role perfectly. The other two might have thought it was a perfect play on his ego, but Henley knew Danny was silently tipping his hat to Merritt when it came to his mentalism. She playfully inserted her own banter, adding pressure to Danny not being able to perform Merritt's trick so that Tressler was even more at ease spewing the answers.

—

In the Four Horsemen's dressing room before Act II, Henley was seated on the couch, sneaking glances at Danny who was behind a pillar, as she stroked Fluffy the Bunny gently.

Merritt suddenly blocked her field of vision. "Do me a favor, visualize your most adventurous sexual experience," he said in his calm hypnotic voice.

Henley felt like she had met her quota of Merritt's advances today, so she levelled the older man with a glare, and said, "Stay out of my head, you perv."

"No, if I stay out of your head, I'm never gonna get in your pants, so let's stick with this exercise," Merritt replied smoothly.

Danny's eyes narrowed at Merritt, much to Jack's amusement.

*End of Flashbacks*

*Back to the elevator*

"Well, when I first met you, I thought you were kind of a… dick."

Danny scoffed. "Oh."

Henley, with arms crossed, leaned a little forward. "And?"

Merritt shook his head with a look of mock bewilderment and confusion, "Oh, no, that's it."

"That's very nice, I'm touched," Danny said, still unfazed.

"I just," Merritt motioned and put both hands on his chest, "from the heart."

"Well, I didn't tell you where I was touched," was Danny's snide reply.

"Oh, you…" Merritt laughed a bit.

Henley giggled. The two men before her had definitely built a relationship full of cocky banter. It was always amusing to watch their witty exchanges. A wave of sadness, or perhaps anxiety, swept over her like a fog. "Oh, what are we gonna do when this is over?"

"We're on our own. Our instructions run out after the show." Danny gave a half-shrug.

Henley looked from Merritt to Danny. "Even if there is no Eye, and if we were completely played and spend the next twenty years in jail, then I just wanna say that…"

"I know. Me, too," Danny said looking at Henley.

"Whoa, whoa, a little too sentimental for me," Merritt said, holding up his hand to say 'stop' then exiting the elevator first.

Henley smiled at Merritt's retreating back. She and Danny approached the door of the elevator at the same time. They reached for each other's hand simultaneously.

"Ready?" Danny asked, lifting her gloved hand and placing a quick kiss where a sliver of the back of her hand was exposed.

"Let's do this," she replied. Danny was always so cocky in front of Merritt, Jack and the rest of the world, but when it was just the two of them, he was a completely different person. He could be gentle, and he could lace his words and his tone with a dozen layers of affection. Part of Henley's anxiety was that they would part ways again after the Eye's instructions ran out. She had been hoping that something else would crop up while they were stringing the FBI, Tressler and Bradley along, but nothing had come so far. She had gotten used to being with Danny 24/7 over the last year. She shook her head to clear it. Now was not the time to dwell on those thoughts. They had one final trick to perform and then they had to disappear.

Without a word, Danny kissed her hand again, and they stepped out of the elevator together. He reluctantly yet subtly released her hand as they rounded the corner to where Merritt was.

Merritt was aware there was something going on between Danny and Henley, and he definitely thought Henley had some weird issues if she wanted to be with Danny. What Merritt _didn't_ know was all the little unspoken exchanges passing between the two right under his nose.

—

As Dylan welcomed the Four Horsemen into the Eye, Danny and Henley held hands as they leapt for the spinning carousel. Whatever fears Henley might have had about it being the end of her time with Danny (again) were melted away as they leapt onto the ride.

Henley leaned in close to Danny on the carousel, finally not caring whether or not Merritt or Jack saw.

Danny smiled at her and pressed a kiss to her forehead, strange looks from the other Two Horsemen be damned.

Part of being a magician was being able to school their expressions and choice of words (or 'patter') perfectly so that a trick could be carried out without the audience being tipped off to anything. It was partly misdirection, partly deception — little cues from things said that would make it seem like the magician had done the impossible.

You could see it in the way they 'randomly' selected Etienne in the crowd. You could see it in the way Danny effortlessly deceived the crowd by his act of being dismayed that Etienne's bank was all the way in Paris and under heavy security. You could see it in the way he even tipped his hands to Henley as Henley magicked a long curtain out of her dress that in turn magicked the teleporter onto the stage — because really, that was simply some very well-choreographed wire-controlled curtain waving. You could see it in the way all Four Horsemen were 'shocked' at how Etienne was squished on Henley's count of _three_ — Merritt even used the F word.

So it really wasn't that far of a stretch of imagination that Danny being a jerk was all just an act — granted, it was a long elaborate one that was real before it was just for show.

Danny and Henley shared a slow kiss before stepping off the carousel into the unknown world of the Eye.

—

Fin.


End file.
